La Orden de la Serpiente de Sangre
Widely loved and supported throughout the Papal States, the Bloody Snakes call to mind the picture of true crusaders for many paisanos. Behind the exceptional PR campaign however, lay the personal army of a fringe nobleman, a collective blood-thirst, and a history of abuse, alleged murders and forced disappearances that has recently caused the The Pope great concern. History Although many would give the year of the Bloody Serpant's founding as 2268, it's actual origin occurred a decade earlier in Scorched Earth, seat of the self-named duchy. It's founders were a hodgepodge of mercenaries, Comancheros, slavers and thugs who answered the summons of Reynaldo Vincento, the reigning duke. Vincento gathered them to act as his personal police force and enforcers, and called them knights to give an impression of legitimacy. Their initial years were spent intimidating merchants and freemen, as well as destroying comancheros trying to hone in on the Duque's rackets. 2262 would see their deployment to Distrito Capital, to battle against raider gangs and comanchero bands. This was done not only gain several miles of territory, but to give combat experience to the Order. The survivors returned battle hardened and sporting weapons and armor taken from their foes. These veterans would then train the next wave of inductees, as well as resume their campaign of terror. They were given their route to fame in 2267 with the announcement of the Saltlands Wars. an innate opportunist, Vincento pledged his support and sent his knights to fight. Their path took them through the District, where they took the time to ransack raider camps as well as scavenger camps, and homesteads. They would thus arrive in The Saltlands well-supplied and equipped, and easily displaced the gangs and tribals on the border. The snakes cut a bloody swathe through the northwest portion of the region, often killing villagers and prisoners instead of converting them. Despite their dishonorable actions they would be thrust into the spotlight of the crusade in early March of 2268, when the knights were camped in the village of Calaboose, and were set upon by a large force of tribals and comancheros. The Serpents were forty-six strong in the village, having split the majority of their forces off to continue raiding, and were completely unprepared, many being asleep. The attackers made early gains, killing a dozen knights and capturing half the village by the time the Order began to organize a defense. This took the form of thirty knights gathered in the cantina, being the only adobe structure in town, with the tribals, bandits, and a fair crowd of angry townspeople surrounding them. The 'Siege of Calaboose' as it came to be known lasted for eight hours, with the knights repelling wave after wave of assaults, and launching several sallies themselves. It ended when twenty more Serpents returned to the village for supplies, and attacked the besiegers from the back. Thinking them the vanguard of a much larger forces, the bandits and tribals retreated, along with a good portion of the town. The body count totaled twenty six knights, almost all dead than wounded, and fifty-two comacheros & tribals, most of them wounded, and soon to be executed. The knights reported the battle to their liege, who quickly began to spread it around, inflating the tribal numbers and leaving out the reprisals against the villagers. When Pope Pious XV heard about it, the battle sounded like nothing less than a miracle, with fifteen men holding off ten-times their number. He was so impressed by the story that he issued a Papal Bull granting the Order Papal recognition, allowing them to travel anywhere. With this announcement came a wave of good-will & support for the Order, all of which Duke Vincento leveraged to the greatest benefit. When the crusade 'ended' in 2270, the Order was one group selected to carry-on the fighting, a task they relished. They returned north in 2274 after leaving destruction through the Northwest Saltlands, though none of it was officially reported. In the time that they were absent, the people of Scorched Earth began to organize and led several strikes for better living conditions. Vincento was at first trying to buy-off the leadership or grant token concessions, but after one such strike threatened his agave crop, he lost patience and called for his knights. The resulting waves of murders and disappearances broke the unity of the workers and reaffirm Vincento's rule. They would spend the next four years training and indoctrinating new recruits. In 2282 they mounted another expedition into the District, capturing two villages, stationing a third of their forces there. Since then, the majority of the Order has remained in the Duchy of Scorched Earth, training and 'enforcing order.' Membership The Bloody Serpents have on of the largest recruitment bases of the knightly orders, thanks mainly to their PR campaign regarding their activities. While many members are drawn from raiders, slavers, and comancheros, a large amount are zealots drawn to the crusader image of the order, and a small portion are honest paisanos trying to support the realm. Unlike almost every other order, only men are eligible for membership, and have to pass indoctrination in the form of a squire-ship. The grandmaster is also the ruler of their home duchy, despite the traditions against such a thing. Activities & Interests The Order, despite it's titles and proclamations, has always been the personal police force of Vincento, who is also the grandmaster. His will is the majority of tasks that the Order sets off on, with the 'crusades' being simple wars on the groups of the District. They continue to portray themselves as humble knights, often sporting metal armor and melee weapons for that purpose. Despite their recognition as knights of the Realm, they continue to bully the paisanos within their home duchy, and support themselves through the looting and the donations of the unknowing. Category:Groups Category:Tamaulipas